Nigerian Igbo billionaire, Chief Afam Mallinson Emmanuel Ukatu has been detained by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Mallinson Group is headed by Nigeria’s “billionaire drug lord.”
In a statement made on Monday, the Agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said that Ukatu was behind the $3 billion Tramadol transaction with suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari.
NDLEA: After Link With Cocaine Deal, Abba Kyari Linked To N3b Tramadol Seizure
After months of monitoring and escaping arrest, the NDLEA captured the millionaire at the Murtala Mohammed terminal in Ikeja.
Ukatu has been a major importer of Tramadol Hydrochloride in dosages of 120mg, 200mg, 225mg, and 250mg, according to the drug enforcement agency.
The suspect is accused of importing illegal pharmaceuticals into Nigeria through his pharmaceutical and plastic manufacturing businesses.
“This is in addition to running 103 bank accounts, the majority of which are utilized to launder money,” Babafemi stated.
The billion has been under surveillance since 2021, when his crew was apprehended with five boxes of Tramadol 225mg on May 4, 2021.
32 To Face Jail Term As NDLEA Recovers 70,800 Tramadol
Ukatu had ordered his subordinates to sell the narcotics to undercover cops, unaware that they were members of Lagos’ Kyari-led Intelligence Response Team.
According to another source, a carton of Tramadol was sold for N17 million apiece, compared to the black market price of N18 million to N20 million each carton.
Kyari’s men, Pius Enidom and Sunday Ibekwete were led to Mallinson’s warehouse after Ukatu’s staff was arrested.
The IRT seized 197 additional cartons of Tramadol 225mg.
The value of the Tramadol seized by men of IRT in one day was over N3 billion.
NDLEA, Customs, Police Intercept 11.8 Million Tramadol Tablets
However, three weeks after the drugs were seized, Kyari’s men transferred only 12 cartons of the Tramadol with one truck and a suspect to the Lagos Command of the NDLEA, leaving 190 cartons unaccounted for.
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